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Chapter one
“Yayo, yayo
Moo la lah
Yayo
Bitch better have my money,
Y’all should know me well enough,
Bitch better have my money,
Please don’t call me on my bluff,
Pay me what you owe me,
Ballin’ bigger than LeBron,
Bitch, give me your money,
Who y’all think y’all frontin on?
Like brrap, brrap, brrap “
“Jesus Christ” I shrieked when I saw the old lady that was lurking behind me, giving me the stink eye disgusted.
“I want a copy of Macbeth, rental two weeks period.”
I tried to slow my heartbeats and move. This woman almost gave me a heart attack. I went to the shelves to get her the book she wanted, and who buys or rents a book this late? It’s 10 pm for God’s sake. Isn’t she afraid that someone would rob her or, worse, kill her?
“Here you go ma’am, this would be.....”
“I know what the cost is, here.”
She threw the money on the counter and went mumbling something about kids these days who have no shame.
Wow, I love Sundays; they are the best start to a productive week, so that’s why people are so peachy.
“Ariel, please clean up and close. I’ve to go. Haley just called, and she is throwing a tantrum.”
“OK Daniel, have a good night.”
He didn’t give me the chance to reply and left me screaming after him, ugh why me? Why did Jason have to take the day off? I went to the kitchen and checked that everything was clean and gathered the garbage bags, then went to the back door to throw them out.
You see, I work at a library slash coffee shop so you can read your favorite book and enjoy your drink. Sometimes we rent books only for the regulars, so I’m sort of a librarian, waitress, and barista.
I’m a senior. I live with my mom who is a nurse, by the way. I don’t need money actually, but I work to pay for my piano lessons. My mom works so hard to afford the college money for me.
I want to be a doctor, so yeah I need a little fortune, that’s why I’m working to pay for my piano lessons. I wanted to help her. I’m not a shameless girl, as the nice lady said a few moments ago.
I sighed and threw the bags next to the others in the alley and when I was about to leave; I heard someone groaning and froze. Oh my god, what is that? What should I do? Is this for real or just my imagination? But again I heard it.
I swallowed hard and turned back slowly, then took hesitant steps farther into the dark alley. My breath hitched when I saw a body behind a big pile of garbage and again froze, staring with wide eyes. In front of me was a man clutching his stomach and groaning in pain.
And without thinking, I ran to him.
“Oh my god, oh my god. Sir...... Sir, Are you OK? Jesus, I’m gonna call 911.”
The man held my hand and looked into my eyes and said, “D.... Don’t please, just get me out of here.”
“But... But you are bleeding so hard, and I think you lost so much blood. You need to go to the hospital. “
“No... NO PLEASE, just help me to get out of here.”
I chewed on my lower lip, thinking about what to do. The thing is, I live in Queens, and..... ugh you got the picture. The man tugged on my hoodie sleeve and that did it for me.
I put one of his arms around my neck. I slipped my right hand around his waist and started to stand up and boy, was he heavy. I held dragged him all the way inside into the kitchen and closed the door.
While I was about to drag him out and to my mom’s car, I heard the sound of the front door’s bell. Someone is here. I put him in the corner behind the small counter and was about to see who came, but the man held my right hand in a death grip and shook his head no.
“It’s ok? Don’t worry, I’m gonna be ok.” I whispered.
He dropped his hand reluctantly and let me go; I gave him a small reassuring smile and headed to the door to see who was there.
“We are closed, sirs,” I said with a weak smile to the three bulky men who were looking around suspiciously.
“Oh, I see. Did a man come here, or did you see him pass by?” the tallest one asked.
“This is a library, sir; a lot of men come here to read books.”
“This one is no ordinary man. Well built, 6.5 foot, tan skin, dark hair, amber eyes, stabbed, bleeding,” He said, smirking.
“Oh, umm no, I don’t think I saw him. Do you want to check the cameras? Maybe he came during the morning shift. I wasn’t here, sorry.”
He narrowed his eyes and tried to see if I was lying, so I fluttered my eyelashes and gave the most innocent look I’ve had.
“Alessio, let’s go.” One of the other two men told the hulk in front of me. Alessio gave me another look and went out with the others.
I let out the breath I didn’t know that I was holding and slid to the ground.
After ten seconds, I regained the ability to walk again and went back to the man in the kitchen.
“Sir..... sir wake up. God, is he dead?” I kneeled and checked his pulse, no he’s still alive, just fainted. He’s still bleeding profoundly. I left again and closed everything, the light, and the front door, then drove my car to the back alley. I looked around carefully to see if anyone was watching me, and when I was sure that nothing was wrong. I opened the back door dragged the man to the car, and headed home.
Thank god I was living three blocks away, other days I just walked. But today when my mom knew that I’d be late she gave me her car.
Again I dragged held the very heavy unconscious man to my room, which was on the second floor. Lucky me.
My weak knees just gave up the moment I entered; the stranger and I were on the floor. I was breathing so hard and him groaning.
“Hey wake up, please. I can’t drag you around anymore. I’m not that strong, trust me.”
He moaned and flattered, his eyes open.
“Where am I?” he looked around suspiciously.
“Ah...... Um, after these three scary men left. I couldn’t let you stay at the library, so I brought you here to my house...... umm, this is my room.”
With wide eyes, the man looked at me, surprised. But actually, it was me, the surprised one. This was the first time I took a good look at his face. The first thing I saw was amber. His eyes were the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life, two golden gems with a hint of green. Red full lips, straight nose crocked a little, rough stubble dusting his sharp jawline, and a cute dimple on the right.
His groaning made me snap out of my trance and remember what was going on. With hot red cheeks, I stood up.
“Umm.... can you stand up? We need to go to the bathroom to clean your wounds.”
I didn’t wait for his answer. I just ran there.
After a minute or so, the stranger came wobbling. He lost a lot of blood; I was astonished that he could even open his eyes.
“Hey......Would you please sit here?” I closed the toilet seat and opened the first aid kit and looked for scissors, then faced him to cut his dress shirt.
“What the hell you think you are doing?” he growled.
I winced when he held my right wrist in a death grip.
“I need to check your wound. It’s still bleeding so hard, and your clothes must be sticky. It’s gonna hurt if you tried to take them off. I need to cut them.“ He narrowed his eyes.
“And if you check it, what can you do about it? Nothing.”
“Look, you don’t want to go to the hospital. You’re bleeding, and your wound needs to be cleaned at least.”
He let my hand go hesitantly. I helped him take off his jacket and tried to take off his dress shirt, but it was sticky like I thought. With all the bleeding and the open flesh, it was like glue. So I used the scissors to cut it open. I tried so hard not to flush when I saw his naked torso; it was a sight to behold.
Broad wide shoulders with lots of muscles, defined strong abs and on his left pectoral, there was a scary tattoo of a three-headed vicious dog, surrounded by flames. And a lot of scars were all over his abdomen. On his back, there was a full back length tattoo of some sort of grim reaper, angel!
His grunts again brought me back from dreamland. I shook my head, clearing it; I gently touched the wounded area on his right, trying to understand what I was dealing with.
“Umm... You need a couple of stitches. I’m not a professional, but I can do it. My mom taught me, but it won’t look pretty. I’m not an expert. “
He opened his eyes and said, “Just do it.”
“Ok, I’ll clean it first, Um.....I don’t have any anesthetic, I’m sorry.”
“Just fucking DO IT.”
I flinched but didn’t say anything and started silently to clean the cut, disinfecting and stitching it.
When I felt him flinching and biting hard on his lower lip so much that he drew blood, I couldn’t take it anymore.
“Shhh, it is ok. I’m almost done. I promise it’s gonna end soon.” I cooed even though I know it’s childish, but what else can I do?
“Ok, I’m done. I think no vital organs were damaged, but you need to check everything up. I’m not a doctor.“ He just nodded.
“Ok... Here, let’s clean you up. I’ll bring you something to wear to get some sleep. “
I helped him to wash his face and gave him a big shirt of mine and walked him to my bed. Then brought him a couple of aspirin and a glass of water. When I was about to go, he grabbed my hand.
“Why?” he asked
“What? Excuse me. “
“Why are you helping me? Aren’t you afraid of someone like me? “
“Oh, I can’t lie and say I’m not afraid of you, but why not help? I mean, you were in a bad condition and can’t go to a hospital for certain reasons, so what else can I do? Leave you to die? “
“Do you know what I do for a living?”
“I think I have a good idea about that ......” I pried my hand from him. “Just get some rest.”
I took a shower and put on my pajamas and checked on him; he didn’t have any fever or anything, thank goodness. And then I headed to my chair next to my desk and tried to sleep.
I checked the alarm clock; it was 12:01 am. I sighed.
“Happy freaking eighteenth birthday Ariel.” Then I fell into a dreamless sleep.
Chapter Two Waking up with a massive headache and a dizzy head, I closed my eyes, trying to suppress all that hazy feeling, but with no luck. Opening my eyes again for a moment, I didn’t know where I was. Looking around again, I remembered everything that happened at the restaurant yesterday, fighting the Italians, the shooting, the stab. Everything rushed to my head quickly, making my headache unbearable. I groaned in frustration but froze when I saw her sleeping in a small chair. The girl that saved my life that night, she looked so small, so fragile, so naïve and so fucking stupid to do what she had done. How could she be so stupid to help a total stranger like me and put her life in danger? She could have been hurt, hell she could have been killed. I stood up, walked slowly towards her, and just thought about everything again. She saved my ass, but does she really don’t know who I am? Why did she help me in the first place? Does she want anything from me? I breathed a couple
Chapter Three “Ariel, wake up. You’re going to be late for school.” “ARIEL..... You better get your ass down here after ten minutes or I swear to God, I’ll drag your sorry ass to school wearing your pajama. “ I groaned in annoyance and tossed around, a big yawn escaped my lips. I opened my eyes slowly, blinking, then shrugging, and again drifted back to sleep. “ARIEL.” “Damn it, just calm down woman, I’m awake,” I shouted back at my mother that woman doesn’t chill. I stretched like a cat and turned around, my face buried into my pillow; I inhaled deeply and sighed. Closing my eyes, I smiled softly and rubbed my face all over the soft fabric, enjoying its sweet masculine smell. I sighed again, enjoying the sweet feeling. After two seconds I shot up looking around frantically searching for the stranger who I found yesterday. Just as I was about to get out of bed, my bedroom door swung open and my angry mom’s face greeted me. “So I’m gonna drag you out of bed, then.” She said, put
Chapter Four I punched furiously for the millionth time today; I changed my stance panting, all my body was covered in sweat, feeling hot and exhausted, but still, I didn’t let that stop me. Even though my knuckles were ripped open and bleeding but I ignored the pain. Physical pain is nothing, but emotional is much worse because I hate feelings, being fragile and the worst of all is being helpless. I punched again, aggressively. The bunching bag rattled under the force. No one hurts my family and that stupid fucker, Giovanni and his assholes, crossed the line. After trying to, or almost killing me, they gain the confidence to mess with my business. I don’t give a shit about that; it was like your brat son is making some mess to gain your attention, but yesterday they went insane when they killed two of my men working at one of my clubs. “Woah, easy man. What did the poor punching bag do to you?” Leo entered the gym with a big concerned frown on his face. “Gab, it’s been almost fi
Chapter Five Part 1 Insomnia....... It’s been three days since I had a decent sleep. I can’t concentrate, I can’t communicate with anyone, I can’t even participate in anything. It’s like my mind wants to be shut off from anything and everything. Yep, I’m going into a deep depression and the best thing is I’m all alone. I didn’t see my mom since Monday and it is Friday today. God, I just want to stay asleep and never wake up ever again. Ugh, is it that time of the month? Damn you, periods. That’s why I hate being a girl; though it’s early for that torture....... ugh I need to get up. I rolled over the bed and kicked like a little kid, but because I knew it was the last day of the week, I thought it was better to get it over with. God, I hate high school, so much drama, and hormones. Yep, it’s all about hormones. I chuckled lowly. I’m sulking, and it’s only 6 in the morning. It is going to be a LONG day, man...... I hate my life. I took a shower, brushed my teeth, and didn’t b
Chapter 6 Part 2 “Seriously, Rine. I’m not in the mood for clubbing right now. Besides, I look awful.” I said while she dragged me to the kitchen to ask Daniel for permission to leave early. I wasn’t kidding about looking awful. My eyes were puffy and red, my face was swollen and had traces of tears, and my nose was blocked. I was a walking mess. “Actually, this is the perfect time for clubbing because you feel like shit, so we need to fix it.“ She chirped happily, still dragging me. I huffed and cursed her in my head. She’s a stubborn bitch, I know it’s done, I’m going, like it or not. “Not to mention that I don’t have any ‘ Dresses ‘ to wear, heck I don’t even have a simple sundress,” I said, annoyed, saying dress sarcastically. “Don’t worry boo I got your back, and actually I bought you a sexy dress as a birthday gift, and girl, you are damn lucky to have me as a best friend because this is going to be perfect.” She squealed. We entered the kitchen, and Daniel smiled, greetin
Chapter 7 I groaned and closed my eyes tighter to block the light; I tried to use my arm as a shield, but I couldn’t. There was something heavy preventing me from moving. I groaned again, annoyed, but then I felt the little movement of a warm body next to me. Opening my eyes slowly, I looked down at that warm body. It was her, Ariel. She was sleeping peacefully snuggled at my side. Half of her body was above mine, her right arm around my torso, her right leg between my long legs, my right arm holding her tightly closer to my body. I used my left hand to brush some curls away to be able to see her beautiful face; she sighed and snuggled even closer. I smiled and searched for my alarm clock to check the time. 09:00 Am! I slept more than 8 hours?! That’s a first. I looked back at Ariel’s serene face again and remembered yesterday’s events. It was a hectic day, no doubt. After coming back from the Vegas meeting, I was discussing the new security details with Theo and Leo, and all of
Chapter 8 I finished quickly and headed to the second floor to see what kind of information Leo got. I didn’t forget what happened yesterday, even though I looked composed and calm, but deep inside I was seething. I can’t believe something like that happened in my club, to my Ariel. My Ariel?! Since when did I consider her mine? Since you gave her your necklace and marked her as yours ... I still don’t get it. Why did I do that? It’s like another me did that. I snorted. It’s true. It’s the other you alright, the beast inside you wanted her and when it wants anything, it just gets it. But why her? She’s eighteen, for God’s sake! Does it matter? She’s your woman now. Your beast claimed her as his... as yours. My beast..... Cerberus....... My mother gave me that name when I was a little kid saying that I have the soul of a beast, a hellhound, Cerberus, the mythical dog that guards the underworld, Hell. When did I ask my father why Cerberus? She said because I am like him, strong
Chapter 9 I sat on the bed for a while after Mr. Stranger left, still trying to comprehend what was going on. I still don’t understand. What am I doing here? Or How did I come here? I groaned and fell back on the bed; it was soft and tender and so freaking big wow. I turned on my stomach and inhaled deeply, and sighed. Yes, this is his smell. I still remember it perfectly. Though it started to fade back home, his masculine scent, mixed with his cologne, surrounded me like a safe cocoon. I rolled on the bed like a happy cat having her first dose of catnap. His scent made me feel high. I knew it was weird. I should be panicking right now because hello I wake up in a stranger’s bed, a dangerous one at that. But all I felt was safe and protected. Besides, he’s my stranger, so bite me if you don’t like it. I walked to the door he just entered before he left and found his walk-in closet and what I saw made me gap like an idiot. It was huge, bigger than our house, and had everything a